Statement of Research Problem:

Since its inception, the StFX Writing Centre has written curriculum, developed new programs, and increased staff dramatically. Based on student feedback and cursory comparisons of beginning and final marks, it is the opinion of the Writing Centre that it is successful in its activities at StFX. However, to date, no formal quantitative or qualitative research has been conducted to support this opinion. It is my intent in this research project to evaluate the effectiveness of the Writing Centre’s activities and to put the results into perspective by comparing the results to those of writing centres across Canada.

Significance of the Study:

Nationally, university writing centres operate as separate entities, with very little, if any, communication between centres. By initiating and completing the research project, it is my intention to gain a national perspective of Canadian writing centre programming and complete a qualitative and quantitative assessment of writing centres. This data will be compared with the StFX Writing Centre and provide a benchmark for a measurable level of success. It is my intention to propose new programming and procedures at the StFX Writing Centre to meet or surpass that benchmarked level of success. Research findings will be shared with Canadian university writing centres.